Jennifer Lawrence ranked 'most valuable star'; Chris Pratt soars

Jennifer Lawrence came out top for a second successive year in a ranking of the most valuable movie stars, released on Monday, that saw Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt drop out of the top 10, and a huge rise for "Jurassic World" star Chris Pratt.

Lawrence, 25, an Oscar winner for "Silver Linings Playbook" and star of the "Hunger Games" movie franchise, was deemed "the leading movie star of her generation" by editors at culture and entertainment website Vulture.com.

Previously, Forbes had named Lawrence the highest-paid actress last year with an estimated $52 million in earnings. The Vulture.com ranking also assessed factors including likeability, Twitter mentions, critical respect and Oscar nominations.

"Iron Man" star Robert Downey Jr. and perennial favorite Leonardo DiCaprio ranked second and third overall, unchanged from last year.

Jolie slipped from 6th place in 2014 to 17th overall, but she came top of the "most discussed on social media" list. Husband Pitt dropped from nine to 16 on the ranking.

Pratt, 36, had a meteoric rise after two years that saw him star in blockbuster "Jurassic World" and the 2014 sci-fi adventure "Guardians of the Galaxy." He rose 57 places to no.11, and topped the "most likable" rankings.

Oscar winning actor-director-producer Ben Affleck, publicity averse actor Joaquin Phoenix, and Emmy-winning comedian Amy Schumer were the three "most critically respected" on the list.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Superheroes rule at raunchy MTV Movie Awards

LOS ANGELES -- The comic book superheroes of "The Avengers" and comedy romance "Silver Linings Playbook" ruled at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday on a night packed with irreverent jokes about body parts and sneak peeks of some of the year's biggest upcoming films.

"The Avengers" picked up three awards, including the top prize, movie of the year, along with best villain for Tom Hiddleston's turn as the evil Loki, and best fight.

"This is the award that means the most to me. I am so grateful and very excited for 2015 - we're going to bring you 'Avengers 2,'" director Joss Wheedon said, accepting the movie of the year award and confirming that a sequel was in the works.

Jennifer Lawrence added two popcorn-shaped trophies to her Oscar for her turn as an outspoken young widow in "Silver Linings Playbook."

She won for best female performance and shared the best kiss award with co-star Bradley Cooper, who was voted best male performance for his role as a bipolar man in the comedy romance.

Hosted by "Pitch Perfect" comedy star Rebel Wilson, the annual youth-oriented show brought out some of the most popular stars on television, movies and music.

The MTV Movie Awards, one of Hollywood's biggest youth-friendly ceremonies, rewards movie performances from the past year as well as promoting upcoming blockbusters and new music.

A heavily pregnant Kim Kardashian, dressed in a modest, long-sleeved black dress, and Brad Pitt whose new movie "World War Z" opens in June, were among the presenters while teen singer Selena Gomez debuted her new single "Come & Get It."

Keeping it edgy

Wilson, who took home the breakthrough performance award for her role as Fat Amy in musical comedy "Pitch Perfect," kept up a stream of edgy jokes about male and female sexuality, appearing at one point with a fake extra nipple.

Seth Rogen and Danny McBride dropped their pants in a skit on male physiques and "Twilight" heartthrob Taylor Lautner turned up sporting a false beer gut to collect his trophy for best shirtless performance.

Fans, who vote online for the awards, chose "Django Unchained" actors Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson for best "WTF moment" for the scene in which Foxx's vengeful slave berates and unleashes a volley of gunshots at Jackson's servile black manservant.

Foxx was also honored with the MTV Generation Award.

Viewers for the more than two hour-show broadcast around the world live from Los Angeles were treated to sneak peeks of "Iron Man 3," and "Star Trek Into Darkness" ahead of their openings around in late April and May.

They also got a first exclusive look at "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" ahead of the release in November of the sequel to the young adult hit movie.

Emma Watson, 22, who found fame as brainy schoolgirl Hermione Granger in the first "Harry Potter" movie in 2001, was presented with the Trailblazer Award. She has gone on to make some 15 movies, including lead roles in all eight Potter films.

"I look back at all of the work I have done over the past 14 years and many things come to mind, notably how bad my hair was in the first Harry Potter film!" the British actress joked, accepting her award. "Becoming yourself is really hard and confusing," she added.

Will Ferrell won the Comedic Genius Award for his long career on film and television including "Elf," "Saturday Night Live" and "Anchorman."

Raunchy comedy "Ted," which went into Sunday's award show with seven nominations, ended the evening with just one win -- best on-screen duo for Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane's crude, inappropriate talking teddy bear.

The list

Following is a list of winners in the fan-voted awards:

MOVIE OF THE YEAR
"The Avengers"

BEST HERO
Bilbo Baggins, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Rebel Wilson, "Pitch Perfect"

BEST SCARED-AS-S**T PERFORMANCE
Suraj Sharma, "Life of Pi"

BEST ON-SCREEN DUO
Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane, "Ted"

BEST SHIRTLESS PERFORMANCE
Taylor Lautner, "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- Part 2"

BEST FIGHT
Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner vs. Tom Hiddleston, "The Avengers."

BEST KISS
Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST WTF MOMENT
Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson, "Django Unchained"

BEST VILLAIN
Tom Hiddleston, "The Avengers"

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT
Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean and Hana Mae Lee, "Pitch Perfect"

COMIC GENIUS AWARD
Will Ferrell

GENERATION AWARD
Jamie Foxx

TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Emma Watson

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Hungry Jennifer Lawrence wins Oscar game

HOLLYWOOD -- Jennifer Lawrence became one of the youngest best actress Oscar winners ever Sunday for "Silver Linings Playbook" -- using her "Hunger Games" drive to secure Hollywood's highest honor.

"You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell. This is nuts!" Lawrence said about the standing ovation she received after she tripped on her way up onto the stage in a voluminous Dior Couture gown.

The 22-year-old former cheerleader has now added Academy Award prestige to the fortune undoubtedly made playing Katniss Everdeen in the blockbuster teen movie franchise.

And she is not shy of speaking her mind about Tinseltown, telling a recent interviewer: "It's almost like I subconsciously don't want to work anymore, so I'm trying to ruin my career."

"I'm so aware of all the bullshit that surrounds Hollywood, and how everyone gets on this high horse and thinks that they're curing cancer and it makes me so uncomfortable every time I see it," she said.

"So I go in the exact opposite direction and end up saying something like 'I'm pregnant!' when I'm in two franchises."

Lawrence, who plays a messed-up 20-something who falls for Bradley Cooper's recovering mental patient character in "Silver Linings Playbook," struck Oscars gold on her second attempt, after being nominated in 2011 for "Winter's Bone."

The only younger best actress nominees were 12-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes in 2002's "Whale Rider" and Quvenzhane Wallis, who was in the running this year for "Beasts of the Southern Wild," at the age of nine.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, the young Lawrence was keen on cheerleading, field hockey, softball, and modeling -- "none of which she held a passion for," according to her IMDb movie industry website biography.

Her acting career started at the age of 14 when she spent the summer in New York City, wowing producers with cold-read auditions and earning a number of small commercial and film roles.

One of her first jobs was a promo video for MTV reality series "My Super Sweet 16," which she alluded to when she won best actress at the Screen Actors Guild awards.

Shortly after her 2004 New York debut, her family -- she has two older brothers -- moved to Los Angeles so she could pursue her career. She left school two years early in order to focus on acting.

After TV roles her first big-screen credits came in 2008, including "Garden Party" and "The Poker House," but playing Ree in 2010 drama "Winter's Bone" was her first big break, and drew major critical acclaim.

Shortly afterwards she secured a role in "X-Men: First Class," a summer hit in 2011, followed by being cast as the central character in "The Hunger Games," based on the best-selling book series.

Her role as Katniss, winning a nightmarish survival-of-the-fittest contest in a dystopian future world, made her a teenage superstar. The second film in the series, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," is due out this year.

She was named as one of industry daily Variety's Top Ten Actors to watch in 2010, and one of People magazine's Most Beautiful People in 2011.

The best actress Oscar is obviously a more substantial accolade, and no doubt one that will help her already stellar career.

"There are actresses who build themselves, and then there are actresses who are built by others. I want to build myself," she once said.

Of her future, she added: "I'd like to direct at some point. But I don't know because 10 years ago I would have never imagined that I'd be here. So in 10 years from now, I might be running a rodeo."

source: abs-cbnnews.com